The ongoing collaboration between Cricket Australia and PacificAus Sports will see the inclusion of the Papua New Guinea Men’s National team in the 2026 National Indigenous Cricket Championships in McKay, Queensland from April 14th – 19th, 2026. PNG Men’s inclusion comes as an outcome of a consultation with the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cricket Advisory Group and will see the Pacific nation compete in the group stage. However, this will be crucial preparations for the Barramundis ahead of their travel to Japan in May 2026, for the 2028 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup East Asia-Pacific (EAP) qualifier.
PNG Women’s players will also be part of the Championships, although not as the National team, but with players selected to represent the South Australian squad in the Women’s Championships. Teams from New South Wales, Western Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, South Australia and the Northern Territory will compete in the Men’s category along with Queensland, while the Women’s category will feature teams from Western Australia, Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia.
How does Cricket Australia help in developing the sport in the Pacific region among the Associate Member nations?
Cricket Australia (CA) supports the growth of the sport in the entire Pacific Region. In collaboration with Australia Government and PacificAus Sports, Pacific Nations tournaments are now taking place every year since the last 2 years and player placements for Papua New Guinea (PNG) and Vanuatu has been happening for past 2-3 years now in the grade-cricket/club-cricket structure in Australia and in New Zealand. Australia Indigenous Men’s and Women’s teams have toured Vanuatu for bi-lateral series, while CA also ensures that either PNG or an ICC EAP combined squad competes every year in the Australian Country Cricket Championships. Northern Territory Cricket (NT Cricket) have been involving PNG and Nepal in the Top End T20 Tournament now.
National Indigenous Cricket Championships 2026 Schedule (Papua New Guinea only)
14th April 2026: Queensland vs PNG (Scorecard) ; PNG vs Tasmania (Scorecard)
15th April 2026: Victoria vs PNG (Scorecard)
16th April 2026: PNG vs South Australia (Scorecard) ; Northern Territory vs PNG (Scorecard)
18th April 2026: PNG vs Western Australia (Scorecard) ; New South Wales vs PNG (Scorecard)